Academic Archives of Yamaguchi Prefectural University Volume 17 Issue 第１部
published_at 2024-03-31
What are the characteristics of successful second language learners? What learning strategies do they actively use? SLA researchers agree that successful second language learners share the following five factors: ⑴ They are young, ⑵ Their L1 is similar to the TL, ⑶ They have high language aptitude, ⑷ They have high motivation to learn the TL, and ⑸ Their language learning method is effective. Of these five factors, only ⑷ and ⑸ can be improved by teachers’ efforts. First, the age of the learner and the distance between the L1 and the TL cannot be changed by educational intervention. It is said that innate factors strongly influence language learning aptitude and that what teachers can do is limited. Teachers can only motivate students with motivational strategies and encourage them to employ effective learning methods that go with SLA research findings. The purpose of this paper is to provide basic information on teaching English. It will explain the following five factors: how to foster communicative competence, three types of memory, experiential and analytical learning beliefs, roles of AI in English education, and English language proficiency that English learners in Japan are expected to acquire.